RE: Email from Fred Esch about COGA and SVG

I have just spent five minutes playing with the USGS maps and could not even get a pin to attach itself to a city and was then presented with a horrible grid that did eventually have thinner lines on zoom – all very mouse centric as is our UK version https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osmaps/


I think it is hard for all these map makers to provide totally accessible options for everyone and really for those with cognitive impairments it might just be a case of personal preferences and how you normally cope with maps as they can be quite a challenge in terms of orientation etc.  I know several friends who have described how their dyslexia really does affect map usage, direction giving etc.

Best wishes
E.A.

Mrs E.A. Draffan
WAIS, ECS , University of Southampton
Mobile +44 (0)7976 289103
http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk<http://access.ecs.soton.ac.uk/>
UK AAATE rep http://www.aaate.net/

http://www.emptech.info<http://www.emptech.info/>

From: lisa.seeman [mailto:lisa.seeman@zoho.com]
Sent: 07 May 2015 19:34
To: public-cognitive-a11y-tf
Subject: Email from Fred Esch about COGA and SVG


Forwarded with Fred's consent....

Fred Esch<fesch@us.ibm.com<mailto:fesch@us.ibm.com>> wrote ----

What would the COGA task force like to see done with topographic maps?  You can use the USGS topo maps<http://store.usgs.gov/b2c_usgs/usgs/maplocator/(ctype=areaDetails&xcm=r3standardpitrex_prd&carea=%24ROOT&layout=6_1_61_48&uiarea=2)/.do> to evaluate. In the search, I suggest you use Ormond Beach as the map name and select USGS Map Name (rather than Address or Place which gave me errors).

The USGS produces topo maps over the entire US and is used by hikers, surveyors, city planners, etc.  Most countries do something similar. Canada has a online national cadastral system and most local governments allow people to look up boundaries, zoning, assessments, tax and utility information based on online maps.

Regards,

Fred Esch
Accessibility, Watson Innovations
AARB Complex Visualization Working Group Chair
W3C SVG Accessibility Task Force
[IBM Watson]

[Fred]